A championship ring is supposed to be the final piece of a team’s celebration. The New York Knicks’ latest design has something extra that makes it stand out, even before you look closely at the diamonds.
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Unveiled before their October 20, 2026, season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers, the ring celebrates New York’s first NBA title in 53 years. Designed by Jason Arasheben of Jason of Beverly Hills, it combines nearly 800 diamonds and sapphires with details that tell the story of the team’s championship run.
The centerpiece is a mechanical miniature of Madison Square Garden that rises from the ring when its inner bezel turns. As Arasheben told GQ, “It’s got to tell a story beyond just being pretty.”
A Miniature Madison Square Garden Hidden Inside the Ring
The ring’s most unusual feature comes to life when the inner bezel is turned counterclockwise. An engineering system raises a miniature version of Madison Square Garden from the center, complete with its exterior windows and architectural details.
Arasheben explained the challenge in his interview with Complex, saying the team wanted to create something new that New York would appreciate. The result gives the ring a moving centerpiece rather than relying on gemstones alone.
The miniature Garden is only one part of the design. The top can also be twisted off to reveal the arena’s lower bowl, including a basketball court made from yellow gold and seats made from white gold.
The underside of the removable cap features a hand-enameled version of Madison Square Garden’s ceiling pattern and colors. It recreates the view fans see when looking toward the scoreboard, bringing another familiar part of the arena into the design.
Arasheben said the engineering team worked together to bring the moving feature to life. When the mechanism was finally completed, his reaction was simple: “My jaw dropped when we first finished it.”
The two mechanisms give the ring a different kind of detail to discover. One raises the arena’s exterior, while the removable top reveals what the inside of the Garden looks like.
The 16-Point Comeback That Earned Its Own Diamond
The ring’s engineering may catch the eye first, but its gemstones carry specific memories from the Knicks’ championship run. One of the smallest details connects directly to the moment New York secured the title against the San Antonio Spurs.
Set into the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy is a 0.16-carat round diamond. Its weight represents the 16-point deficit the Knicks overcame in their championship-clinching Game 5 victory.
The Knicks won that game 94-90, completing a 4-1 series victory. Jalen Brunson scored 45 points, including 13 straight for New York in the fourth quarter, as the team rallied once more to finish its championship run.
The comeback was part of a larger pattern throughout the Finals. New York recovered from double-digit deficits in all four of its victories against San Antonio, including a stunning 29-point comeback in Game 4.
That earlier rally ended with OG Anunoby’s tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining, giving the Knicks a 107-106 win. It was the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, according to the NBA’s official game notes.
Brunson captured the feeling of the championship during the on-court celebration, telling reporters, “I have no words. It’s everything I ever dreamed of.” The ring preserves the final game’s 16-point comeback, while the larger playoff run receives its own recognition.
Sixteen Emerald-Cut Diamonds and 69 Points of Diamonds
Sixteen emerald-cut diamonds line the ring’s inner bezel, representing the Knicks’ 16 postseason victories. Each diamond marks one win on the way to the championship, turning the team’s playoff record into part of the ring’s design.
New York finished the postseason with a 16-3 record. The team defeated the Atlanta Hawks in six games, swept the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers, and beat the Spurs in five games in the Finals.
The lettering on the ring carries another number from that season. The words “WORLD CHAMPIONS” feature 69 points of round white diamonds, representing the Knicks’ combined regular-season and playoff wins.
That figure comes from 53 regular-season victories and 16 playoff wins. Rather than simply engraving the team’s record onto the ring, the design uses the diamonds themselves to carry the number.
Arasheben explained the thinking behind these details in an interview with PEOPLE. “We wanted to build a storyline for how many stones represent what.”
The numbers also connect the ring to the team’s approach throughout the season. Two inscriptions, “10 WEEKS” and “KNICKS IN FIVE,” carry messages that go beyond the team’s final record.
What “10 WEEKS” and “KNICKS IN FIVE” Mean
“10 WEEKS” appears inside the ring, referring to the period of sacrifice, discipline, and focus that Knicks owner James Dolan asked the team to commit to during its championship push.
The phrase reflects the team’s collective goal rather than an individual achievement. Its placement inside the ring keeps the message close to the wearer, while the other inscriptions document the results of that commitment.
“KNICKS IN FIVE” appears on the outer band, commemorating New York’s five-game victory over San Antonio. The phrase captures the outcome of a Finals series in which the Knicks repeatedly had to recover from difficult positions.
The design also records the team’s playoff series results, giving the ring a permanent record of the journey to the title. The championship trophy, the series references, and the gemstone counts all point back to the same season.
Why the Ring Looks Like New York
The Knicks’ colors are only part of the design. Blue and orange sapphires also connect the ring to Madison Square Garden and the city the franchise represents.
Blue sapphires sit behind the Knicks logo in a radial arrangement inspired by the Garden’s ceiling pattern. Orange sapphires form the logo itself, with white diamonds surrounding it to complete the face.
The ring’s sides carry another reference to New York. Their concrete-like texture draws on the city’s “concrete jungle” identity, a detail Arasheben described as a way to give the design more depth.
The designer explained that the texture was meant to be subtle rather than another obvious display of team colors. It adds a connection to the city without competing with the logo, gemstones, or miniature arena.
Arasheben also has a personal history with New York. He grew up visiting family there during the winter and attended Knicks games as a child, with former Knicks forward Anthony Mason among his favorite players.
Mason later became Arasheben’s first client when he started his business in the 2000s. That connection gives the Knicks project personal meaning for the designer, beyond the challenge of creating a championship ring.
The Personal Details That Make Each Ring Different
The ring also includes details specific to the person receiving it. Each player’s ring features their last name and diamond-encrusted jersey number, while the numbers of the championship roster wrap around the design.
These personalized elements sit alongside the broader references to the team. The result is a ring that records both the Knicks’ collective achievement and the individual player who receives it.
The standard cushion shape was chosen with longevity in mind. Arasheben told PEOPLE that the ring needed to look special decades after its unveiling, rather than depend on a design that would feel dated once the celebrations ended.
The ring is crafted from white gold and contains gemstones totaling 22 carats. Its nearly 800 diamonds and sapphires are arranged around the logo, inscriptions, trophy, and mechanical Garden, with each section serving a different purpose.
How the Knicks’ Ring Compares With Earlier Championship Designs
Jason of Beverly Hills has created championship rings for several major sports teams, including the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics. The Knicks ring builds on a tradition of combining team history with unusual design features.
The Warriors’ 2018 championship ring featured a reversible top, while the Celtics’ 2024 ring included a removable top that revealed a miniature championship banner and a piece of the actual parquet floor. The Celtics ring also used 16 emerald-cut diamonds to represent its 16 playoff victories.
The Knicks’ design combines hidden details with a separate mechanism that raises a miniature Madison Square Garden from the center of the ring. That moving architectural feature is the distinction Arasheben highlighted when discussing the project.
The 2019 Toronto Raptors ring took a different approach, featuring more than 650 diamonds, the Toronto skyline, and Scotiabank Arena. The team described it as the largest NBA championship ring ever made, showing how different franchises have used their rings to celebrate their own identities.
The Knicks’ ring does not rely on size alone to make its statement. Its defining idea is the miniature Garden, supported by details that connect the arena to the team’s comeback, postseason record, and championship victory.
For a franchise that waited 53 years between titles, the ring preserves more than the final result. It brings together the building, the city, and the moments that carried New York back to the top of the NBA.